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After 5 weeks of vacationing with friends and family in California, and two days of sorting through 5 weeks of piled-up mail, I am back in the routine (sort of). Missed my sanctuary time this morning… am headed up there now (as soon as I post this).

As you can see, looking beyond into the living room, my Christmas decorations still are up. That was today’s job – along with bill paying. Had to get right on it after breakfast cuz I had a friend coming over.

That’s only a portion of the mail we accumulated at the post office while we were gone. Most of it was junk. That went into another pile to be thrown away.

Bob’s busy sorting and responding to mail, too.

After lunch we took a break and I did some of my usual: checked at the P.O. for more mail, visited my “Senior Friend” who lives alone, and visited friends in the Manor Nursing Home. It was good to see them after all this time away.

As I was leaving the house, headed to the P.O. and Manor, our neighborhood “pets” greeted me. They were out in the field, and then crossed the driveway in front of me. They stopped in the sunshine over in the neighbor’s field and looked at me. “Welcome Home!” they seemed to say!

That’s the snow-peaked Madison Range beyond our valley over there. Big Sky Ski Resort is in those mountains. The sun shone brightly these last two days since we’ve been home, I told friends I brought it with me from California!

Not to be outdone, my friend, Jacquie, sent me a photo of her neighborhood “pets.” They were walking along her driveway… a mama moose and her youngin’ – so adorable!

Approaching my friend, Ray’s house, his neighborhood “pets” were lounging in his yard. Ah, it is so good to be back in the place where the deer and the antelope roam (and the moose too)!!

Back home, I helped my friend with the Christmas tree and other remnants of the holidays. They needed to be taken down and put away. And my house needed tidying. Thank God for Tracy. I couldn’t have done it without her!

Ah yes, January 30th… time to put the tree away for another year.

How did you spend your day?

No place like home! Blue skies, puffy clouds,… We are grateful to God for this place.We feel so blessed!

These Jack Fences were deep in the snow with powder puff toppings. So picturesque!

Blue sky re-emerged, the sun peeked through, and the trees sparkled. I’m sorry the camera didn’t capture the sparkling for you! But you can imagine.

Approaching our home, the Madison Range was a welcomed sight.

Those dots in the snow are cattle!

Home Sweet Home!!

The tracks in the snow are evidence that our neighbor came down our driveway earlier today. He blew off our walkway and prepared a clear spot for us to enter the house. God bless him!

Are you blessed with helpful neighbors like ours? I hope so!

It was a wonderful trip to California and back. We had a marvelous set of experiences with family and friends. Thank you for traveling along vicariously with us!

But, as much as we enjoyed the trip, the friends, the time with family, the sun-filled desert, the reunions with colleagues and former classmates, the Tahoe area skiing, etc., you know…. there’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

It’s good to be back in the Madison Valleywhere the Madison River beckons people from all over to the world to come and fly fish…and where the big skysmiles a welcomeand neighbors are so grand.

Thanks for visiting JanBeek.Which of my photos from today’s travel did you like best?

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As we left South Lake Tahoe this morning, there was a light rain. But the farther we toward home, the heavier the downpour. Not fun driving in that stuff. But maybe better than heavy, blowing snow creating whiteouts. Been there, done that!

We kept ourselves entertained on the trip with recollections of the fun time we’d just had with our son, Ty, and his family.

Last night we went to dinner at the Hot Pot Thai Restaurant near State Line. Our dear granddaughter, Faith, and her wonderful husband, Kyle, joined Ty, Monika, and us.

Earlier in the day, Bob joined them on the slopes at Kirkwood Ski Resort.

Ty, Kyle, FaithBob & Ty

They had a great time.

It was a beautiful day.

Now we’re headed to Twin Falls, Idaho for the night. Went through terrible rain, sleet, snow… I spoke too soon about blowing snow and whiteouts. Yup, they found us!